Sart

AMG Review of Sart

Brian Olewnick
All Music Guide

Garbarek's second album for ECM found him conducting further explorations in two separate directions. On the one hand, his playing and, to some extent, his composing were becoming increasingly avant-garde, a path which would culminate in the ensuing Tryptikon disc. His stark cries clearly owed something to the then burgeoning AACM movement as well as to European musicians like Peter Brotzmann. At the same time, pieces like the title track here nodded toward the contemporary jazz-rock experiments of Miles Davis. "Sart"'s descending five-note theme and the space it leaves in its wake are reminiscent of one of Davis' approaches on records like Bitches Brew. Garbarek utilizes this structure to good dramatic effect, generating mini-climax after mini-climax, only to recede at the end. This was also the first collaboration with pianist Bobo Stenson who would become a regular associate of Garbarek's in upcoming years. His presence fills out the group sound quite nicely and serves as an agreeable counterpoint to Rypdal's playing, which, at this point, was still experimental and imaginative. Rypdal's atmospheric "Lontano," which closes the album, is a fine, brooding piece and one of the disc's highlights. A strong recording and, along with all of the other early ECM Garbarek releases, recommended for fans who came upon him much later in his career.